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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by joint swelling, pain, and bone remodeling. We previously reported that autotaxin (ATX) deficiency disrupts lipid rafts in macrophages. Lipid raft disruption results in the dysregulation of RANK signaling, which is crucial for osteoclastogenesis and the pathogenesis of RA. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of ATX deficiency on joint inflammation and osteoclast differentiation. A collagen-induced arthritis mouse model was used with myeloid lineage-restricted Atx-knockout (AtxΔME/ΔME) mice and DBA/1 mice treated with the ATX inhibitor PF-8380. Joint inflammation and bone erosion were visualized using hematoxylin and eosin staining and micro-computed tomography. Osteoclast differentiation was assessed by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining. ATX deficiency suppressed joint inflammation, bone resorption, osteoclast differentiation, and pro-inflammatory protein expression in both AtxΔME/ΔME mice and PF-8380-treated mice compared to controls. Mean disease score of Atx+/+ mice at the end of experiment was 3.813, but that of AtxΔME/ΔME was 0.185 (p < 0.05). The differentiation of bone marrow-derived macrophages into osteoclasts was reduced in AtxΔME/ΔME cells compared to Atx+/+ cells. ATX deficiency suppressed RANKL-induced phosphorylation of ERK and Akt and the interaction between RANK and TRAF6. ATX deficiency disrupted lipid rafts and dysregulated RANK distribution in RAW264.7 cells. Actin ring formation was also inhibited in AtxΔME/ΔME osteoclasts. ATX deficiency suppressed RA and osteoclast differentiation by disrupting lipid rafts and altering the RANK signaling pathway. This suggests that ATX inhibition may be an effective strategy for developing new disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we move towards the commercialization and upscaling of perovskite solar cells, it is essential to fabricate them in ambient environment rather than in the conventional glove box environment. The efficiency of ambient-processed perovskite solar cells lags behind those fabricated in controlled environments, primarily owing to external environmental factors such as humidity and temperature. In the case of device fabrication in ambient environments, relying solely on a single parameter, such as temperature or humidity, is insufficient for accurately characterizing environmental conditions. Therefore, the dew point is introduced as a parameter which accounts for both temperature and humidity. In this study, a machine learning model was developed to predict the efficiency of ambient-processed perovskite solar cells based on meteorological data, particularly the dew point. A total of 238 perovskite solar cells were fabricated, and their photovoltaic parameters and dew points were collected from March to December 2023. The collected data were used to train various tree-based machine learning models, with the random forest model achieving the highest accuracy. The efficiencies of the perovskite solar cells fabricated in January and February 2024 were predicted with a MAPE of 4.44%. An additional Shapley Additive exPlanations analysis confirmed the significance of the dew point in the performance of perovskite solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the number of FCEV vehicles increases, the importance of safe hydrogen fuel storage becomes larger. Hydrogen energy needs a high-pressure composite pressure vessel called a type 4 fuel tank. The type 4 fuel tank consists of a plastic liner and filament winding of composite fibers. During use, the hydrogen fuel tank is repeatedly charged and discharged, which causes damage to the composite region of the fuel tank. Therefore, to ensure the safe use of hydrogen fuel, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the hydrogen fuel tank. This article proposes a new, practical structural health monitoring (SHM) method based on the correlation between ultrasonic attenuation and crack density. The propagating ultrasonic wave attenuates by interaction with the damages in the composite materials of the fuel tank. Hydraulic cycle tests were performed to reproduce repeated damages in the fuel tanks. The micro-CT imaging method was used to verify the actual crack density of the fuel tank. The attenuation of the ultrasonic wave propagation and the crack density of fuel tanks were combined in one equation using the hydraulic test cycle as a parameter. With this practical SHM method, real-time structural health monitoring of type 4 fuel tanks can be done by measuring ultrasonic wave propagation on the fuel tank with the PZT active sensor network, offering hope for improved safety in the automotive and aerospace industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]